Dr. Tony Holohan:

I thank the Chairman and members of the committee. I am pleased to be here today to contribute to these hearings on the general scheme of the public health (standardised packaging of tobacco) Bill 2013. The Minister has already provided the background to the heads of the Bill. I will set out some detail regarding the evidence base for the measure and will also go through the general scheme head by head.

In order to put today's subject matter in context, it is important to state that smoking is the greatest single cause of preventable illness and premature death in Ireland. Approximately 5,200 Irish people die every year from diseases caused by smoking - cancers, circulatory diseases, respiratory and digestive diseases. In all, smoking-related disease causes 19% of all deaths nationally and they are all preventable and avoidable deaths.

Apart from the cost in terms of disease and years of potential life lost, it is important to consider the economic cost of deaths and illness attributable to smoking. A European study conducted in 2009 estimated it to be in the region of €664 million for Ireland. However, it is clear that the measures we have introduced are working. There has been a decrease in the number of people smoking. The most recent figures we have from the rolling surveys conducted by the national Office of Tobacco Control indicate that 22% of Irish adults smoke. That represents a decline of 7% since 2007, when the last large-scale study on smoking in Ireland was done. In addition, recent data on school-aged children - the HBSC survey, which uses an international methodology - indicates a clear downward trend, with 80% of 15 to 17 year olds not smoking and nearly 90% of 12 to 17 year olds not smoking.

As the Minister has stated, standardised packaging is the next step in tackling the promotion and advertising of tobacco and smoking. International research conclusively shows that standardised packaging will increase the noticeability, recall and impact of health warning messages, reduce the ability of packaging to mislead consumers into believing that some products may be less harmful than others, and reduce the attractiveness of the tobacco product for both adults and children.

What is standardised packaging? It means that all forms of branding, such as trademarks, logos, colours and graphics, would be removed from tobacco packs. The brand name would be presented in a uniform typeface for all brands and the pack would be in one plain neutral colour. The resulting pack will be less attractive to consumers, as the Minister has demonstrated, and will make the picture health warnings stand out more clearly. It will also prevent packaging from misleading consumers about the harmful effects of tobacco. For example, evidence shows that lighter-coloured packs give the impression that the cigarettes are less harmful.

Why do we need to introduce the measure? Cumulative restrictions in Ireland and internationally on advertising, promotion and sponsorship have resulted in the industry turning increasingly to packaging as a key marketing tool. It is the last place they can legally advertise their product to interest smokers and potential smokers. The tobacco industry has argued that standard plain packs would be easier to forge and that smuggling would increase as a result.